Nelson Barden, of Nelson Barden & Associates in Waltham, Massachusetts, is the country’s foremost pipe organ renovation expert. His projects have included the organs at Boston University, the Church of the Advent on Beacon Hill, and the Old South Church in Copley Square. Barden referred to his largest and final project as his “magnum opus.” This involved using the concept of “surround sound” in the restoration of the organ at the Church of the Transfiguration in Longwood Gardens, Philadelphia.
Barden’s dedication to the musical legacy of Edwin H. Lemare has been immeasurable. His work has included research, biographical writing, collecting and recording organ rolls, traveling, spending hours in libraries, interviewing people, and developing a personal friendship with the Lemare family.
Barden’s biography of Lemare, which was published in the American Organist in 1986, tells the story of Lemare in four chronological articles and offers a unique perspective into Lemare’s life.
Barden collected many of the organ rolls Lemare made in Germany on the Welte Organ in 1913. He recorded nineteen of these rolls on two CD’s called The Art of Edwin H. Lemare. These rare historical recordings provide a real time experience of Lemare’s playing for generations to come.
